Improved method of transmitting power by means of railroad-cars operating upon rails



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLINTON FOSTER, OF GALESBURG, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVED METHOD 0F TRANSMITTING'POWER BY MEANS 0F RAILROAD-CARS OPERATINGUPON RAILS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 57,1 l2, dated August 14 1866.

To all 'whom fit may concern:

Be it known that I, CLINTON FOSTER, of Galesburg, in the county of Knox and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Operating Mechanism by the Passage of Railway-Trains; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part oi' this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,like letters indicating like parts wherever they occur.

To enable others skilled in the art to construct and use the invention, I will proceed to describe it.

My invention consistsin applying to the rails of an ordinary railroad one or more oscillating or rocking levers in such a manner that as the Wheels ofthe passing ears pass over them they shall be caused to oscillate, and, by suitable connections with proper mechanism, transmit the motion and power thus imparted to them to the mechanism for the purpose of performing labor of any kind.

Figure 1 is a top-plan view; Fig. 2, a side elevation, and Figs. 3 and 4 are views of portions detached.

To utilize my invention I take the bars of an ordinary railroad at any desired point on the line of the road, and cut a recess in the inner sides of the bars or rails, and Within the recess thus formed I place a metal plate, B, of the form shown in Fig. 3, the plate or leverB being of proper thickness to ll the recess in the rail and come flush with its inner face, as shown in Fig. .1. These levers B are secured rigidly to a shaft, G, which is mounted in proper bearings transversely of the rails, as shown in Fig. l.

It will be observed that the levers B are so located that While their central point, directly over the shaft C, is `just flush with the surface of the rail A, the points x Will be slightly elevated above the rail, it being understood that the recess in the rail is so formed as to permit the lever B to oscillate sufficiently to bring the points x alternately even with the surface of the rail. When thus arranged, it

will be readily understood that as a car approaches and the Wheel on the rail strikes the point w of the lever B it will be depressed,

thereby elevating the opposite end of the lever, and as the wheel passes on and comes in contact with the opposite point a: it will be depressed, the first one being then elevated. In this way the passage of each Wheel over the lever B Will give to it an up-and-down or oscillating movement, the same motion, of course, being transmitted to the shaft O. From the rocking shaft C the motion may be transmitted by any of the well-known meansto the machinery to be operated.

In the drawings I have shown a crosshead or lever, E, attached to the end of the shaft O, as shown in Fig. 2. To each end of this lever E a pitman, n, is attached, which pitmen may be connected to pump rods for operating pumps, and thereby elevating water; or the pitmen may be connected to cranks, and the reciprocating motion be thus converted into rotary motion for operating circular saws or any other kind of machinery. An arm, c, is also shown attached to the shaft O in a vertical position, which may also be used for imparting motion to mechanism.

D represents a shaft having a ratchet-Wheel, c, secured to each end, and opetared by pawls b, attached to the cross-head or rocking lever E. This may be used for elevating weights, as in loading and unloading cars, Src., or it may be used to Wind up a weight, which can then be used at pleasure for operating any suitable mechanism.

In using my invention it will be an object to locate it at those points on the track Where trains pass most frequently. By locating it at railroad-stations, where the cars, in making up trains and for other reasons, necessarily pass frequently to and fro, sufficient power may be thus obtained to supply the tanks With Water, saw Wood, and perform much other useful labor for which power has now to be specially provided.r By these means, too, on lines where there is much travel of trains, power may be thus obtained for light manufacturing purposes and for performing many operations on the farm, such as churning, washing, turning grindstone, cutting feed, sawing wood, &c., along the line of the road.

Especially on down-grades this method of operating mechanism may be used with great advantage, as it is obvious that no expenditure of power will be required from the engine, the momentum of the passing train being amply sufcient to operate the device.

It' Will, of course, be understood that the lever B must be of such alength tha-t the Wheel passing over it Will be entirely clear of the lust point :1: before the succeeding Wheel strikes the rst point m. As the oscillations will be quick und have a tendency to jerk and jar the mechanism, I provide for this by attaching the pitmen to the lever E, as shown in Fig. 4, m representing a ztt piece of metal having u journal, o, 011 each end, to which the heed or end of the pitmztnis pivoted.V A piece of rubber, ts represented by h, is fitted in the opening on euch side of m, which thus operates us it spring` to shown and described.

CLINTON FOSTER.

Witnesses: Y

C. C. HoLcoMB, Z. POND. 

